Puppy freed from wheel in Bakersfield (photos)

Kern County firefighters freed a pit bull puppy that had gotten its head stuck in the hub of a car wheel, and they have the pictures to prove it.

Junior was playing around with his seven brothers and sisters Friday morning when he got his small head stuck in the wheel, said fire department spokesman Brandon Hill.

His owner drove the yelping puppy — and the wheel — over to the local fire station in Bakersfield for assistance.

“The puppy is fine now, but he was definitely not a happy camper when that was going on,” Hill said.

The firefighters at the station quickly thought to use vegetable oil they had in the kitchen to make the puppy slippery enough to slide out. After about 10 minutes of finagling the puppy’s furry folds, a greasy but happy Junior was free of his over-sized collar and “running around again,” Hill said.

How Junior managed to squeeze into the wheel in the first place remains a mystery.

“I think he was just being a puppy,” Hill said.

Junior after the oiled-up rescue. Photo: James C. Dowell/Kern County Fire Department